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Escape from those chaotic commute woes when stuck in Bengaluru traffic. Secure your daily comfort in seamlessly linked transportation networks, cushioned by “cutting-edge digital integration.” These are among the grand promises listed in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s manifesto for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly election, while announcing the intent to establish a State Capital Region (SCR) of Bengaluru. The BJP has claimed that they will establish transport networks modelled along New York and London in Bengaluru, if voted to power. The Congress too has made similar promises of creating a “mega Bengaluru region” with wider infrastructure and administrative networks.
Short on details, the BJP’s manifesto talks about a comprehensive development strategy for Bengaluru. An integrated ticket-booking app for various modes of transport, a multi-modal transport hub, and a universal travel card are some of the measures announced as part of this strategy. But all of these proposals have been on the drawing boards for years. Beyond declarations of intent, the average Bengalurean has not seen any remarkable change in the mobility space.
Will the establishment of a planning region named State Capital Region — along the lines of the National Capital Region in Delhi — bring a dramatic change in the way Bengaluru is governed, and its infrastructure planned and funded? Will it boost the city’s financial and administrative autonomy? Will it help grassroots planning and local governance? Will it empower the citizens? These are the fundamental questions arising from the ground. These queries go far beyond transportation and mobility concerns alone.
Any change in the overall dynamics of a city as expansive as Bengaluru must start with a planning process. The existing master planning process for Bengaluru is anchored by the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA), an autonomous body set up by the state government to plan, coordinate and supervise the proper and orderly development of the areas within the Bangalore Metropolitan Region.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Region includes the Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagara districts. Since 2007, BMRDA has extended to an area of 8,005 square kilometres, a region so vast that it currently stands as the second largest metropolitan area in India.
Senior sustainable mobility activist Sathya Sankaran notes that if the purpose of modelling Bengaluru as an SCR is to improve planning, this can be done under existing structures as well. “Chikkaballapur and Doddaballapur are already doing certain development activities under the BMRDA Structure Plan. Now with all of these, if you are still trying to create a State Capital Region, what additional benefits are you looking to gain? If you think planning can be better, that can be done even today with the existing BMRDA, with some additional functionality,” he says.
If SCR is about having a regional outlook purely from a planning perspective, then BMRDA — which can do the same — has already existed for nearly four decades, as urbanist V Ravichandar points out. Ravichandar was part of the expert committee involved in the BBMP Restructuring exercise in 2016-17. “The BMRDA is among the least coveted postings. It is seen as a punishment posting. It has been a fairly toothless body so far,” he notes.
Although BMRDA covers a massive area — about 10 times the size of BBMP’s jurisdiction — its effectiveness in bringing about a comprehensive regional outlook has been questionable, says Ravichandar. “So now, by making the same area into an SCR, I am not sure what will change, unless it is clearly spelt out [by the BJP]. For instance, they could say 5% of the city’s budget will go specifically towards developing the SCR, over and above usual entitlement of funds. Then you know that at the end of the day, there is extra money [in setting up an SCR]. Or they could frame clear planning rules for the region, which is different from the existing statute book,” he says.
Geographically, Bengaluru as an SCR could be visualised as a larger entity. But, as Sathya reminds, the city’s growing importance has worked against its autonomy in recent years. The democratically elected Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Council has seen its powers slowly being chipped away. With little accountability to the public, government-run agencies have come to control citizens’ access to many utilities.
“The state government is not allowing the BBMP to function independently. Most projects are led by the Chief Minister and only when he chairs meetings, things happen,” Sathya notes. Even the recently constituted Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA), which brings all public transportation services in the city under one umbrella, has the Chief Minister as the ex-officio chairperson.
Autonomy in governance
In the context of existing problems with the BBMP and BMRDA, a new State Capital Region would be helpful only if it guarantees an empowered mayor with a full five-year term, or a separate, independent governing authority. But there is another democratic principle that runs counter to the very idea of a centralised authority: Decentralisation. This would mean empowering wards and ward committees to identify problems closest to them and decide on projects that can help resolve them, through a bottom-up approach that integrates even decentralising revenue and expenditure at the local level.
A different planning model
A mere change in nomenclature without articulating a different model of planning and development will be of no use, Ravichandar reiterates. As an example, he cites the Bengaluru International Airport Area Planning Authority (BIAAPA), which is bound to be included under a State Capital Region. “The current development model followed [in BIAAPA] is no different from other models that resulted in Bengaluru’s infrastructure and transport system becoming a mess. It has the same problems of illegal encroachments, non-walkability, poor traffic management, etc.” he elaborates.
The extended regions around the city and associated planning authorities have continued to follow the same flawed path as Bengaluru, he further says. “There is no ring-fencing of natural bodies and green spaces, there are no 50 to 100 acre areas earmarked for a Cubbon Park or a Lalbagh and declared as ‘no development zones’,” he adds, complaining that these outer areas have been witnessing a familiar pattern of authorities buying land from farmers and converting them into residential or commercial spaces, while city planning advocates run around trying to convince civic bodies and officials to adhere to sustainable urban design. “Basically, I am sceptical,” says Ravichandar.
On its part, the Congress has unveiled plans to merge multiple service providers such as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), transport, housing and power authorities under a single agency. The party also wants to set up a ‘Maha Bengaluru Samsthan’ comprising urban governance experts, environmentalists, industrialists and economists. The stated objective is to help BBMP revive the lost glory of Bengaluru. But without a clear plan of how things will be done differently, such vague promises could play out as mere repetition of past mistakes.
Advocates for citizens’ empowerment contend that bringing various governmental agencies under another mega-agency will not aid accountability. However, merging them with the BBMP could give teeth to the municipal corporation. Ultimately, the BJP and Congress’s promises for Bengaluru indicate an awareness that Bengaluru is heavily burdened with problems of urbanisation, and a ‘business as usual’ approach simply cannot work.